Paxton Media Group acquires Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald

Paxton Media Group has purchased The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., from Wick Communications.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented Wick Communications in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Paxton Media, a family-owned company headquartered in Paducah, Ky., owns more than 35 daily newspapers, a television station and numerous weekly publications across Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. Fourth- and fifth-generation family members manage Paxton Media.

"We are gratified for the opportunity to assume stewardship of The Daily Herald," said David Paxton, president and chief executive officer of Paxton Media Group. "It is an award-winning newspaper with a proud history of serving Halifax County."

The Daily Herald will join other Paxton publications in the N.C./Tenn./Ga. division of Paxton Media Group, managed by Group Publisher Rick Bean. That group includes 10 other dailies, six of which are in North Carolina. The North Carolina dailies include The Daily Dispatch (Henderson), The Sanford Herald, The Enquirer-Journal (Monroe), News-Topic (Lenoir), The Daily Courier (Forest City) and The High Point Enterprise. There also are several weekly newspapers in the division.

The Daily Herald will be in a better position to serve readers and advertisers by combining its strengths with those of other Paxton newspapers in the area, said Jamie Paxton, vice president of Paxton Media Group. Henderson is just one hour to the west of Roanoke Rapids.

"Residents of Halifax County deserve quality local journalism, and this business combination provides the financial security needed to assure the newspaper will continue to serve the community long into the future," Paxton said.

"We embrace this new member of the Paxton NC family," said Group Publisher Rick Bean. "While newspapers have taken on a different look in the past decade, the goal of meeting the advertising and informational needs of each market remains our core mission."